oh207 65g Tank Thread

[oh207]

Radion Upgrade

Today I switched out the old Gen1 Radion for a Gen3 Pro. The new unit fit perfectly in the old brackets. The swap took only a few minutes.
I also took the opportunity to clean the fan I had over the DT. It had a lot of salt on it. It never occurred to me to take the fan out last fall. It would have help to prevent all the salt creep from accumulating on the unit and potentially damaging it or shortening its life.

I was so excited to get the new light up and running I forgot that I wanted to scrape off some of the corraline algae from the front and side glass. With the hood over the top, I can't really reach the bottom to scrape it properly. There is now a 2" covering of corraline going up the glass from the sandbed. I guess it will have to wait for another time.

 

[lnevo]

Wow you have the exact same crappy canopy i do i can't wait to get rid of mine...next project I'm working on...

 

[oh207]

Wow you have the exact same crappy canopy i do i can't wait to get rid of mine...next project I'm working on...

Yep...exact same tank too. I hate putting the unit in the canopy because its so close to the water line. I too am thinking of a project to do with the canopy. I was thinking of cutting out the center to mount the light a bit higher and reinforce the canopy from front to back.

 

[lnevo]

I knew tank was the same i was thinking about modifying as well. Not worth the trouble. I hate that it opens on top and the front doesn't. Makes maintenance a pain. Gonna have a new one built. Waiting to finish ironing out details with tttony.

 

[oh207]

RIP RBTAs GBTAs

Late last year I purchase a container of Silversides to feed my BTAs. They were quite big and healthy and I figure that I will give them a treat. WRONG!!!
At the time I had 4 nems, 3 large ones and a baby GBTA with pink tips. I only fed the large ones silversides. The baby one could only handle PE mysis. I fed each of the large ones half a silverside once a month for 3 months. Over the past few months I've seen the large ones shrink and melted away while the baby grew and grew and grew. In fact the baby nem grew from the size of a quarter to about 6" during the same time while the others were shrinking.
I've read all the horror stories of silversides and nems but sadly, I only read them after it was too late. They went from 8-10" to mush.
It was painful for me to see this happen and not understand what was the cause. At first I wasn't sure, but then after discussing it with someone I realize that the silverside was the only thing different that these guys had.
RIP RBTAs and GBTA.

Here is a before/after picture.

 

[oh207]

Snowflakes Spawning

Snowflakes Spawning
Reef porn.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=z0SbryfyZWU

 

[E.intheC]

Tank is looking good man. How do you like the Radion upgrade? I'm thinking of doing the same thing.

 

[oh207]

Tank is looking good man. How do you like the Radion upgrade? I'm thinking of doing the same thing.

Thanks. Its a big improvement and upgrade for me compared to the Gen1. More light spread in the tank. Corals are finally growing in the corners. Lol

 

[oh207]

1st Water Change with ESV Salt

Did my first water change using ESV salt. I purchase the box over a month now but was reluctant to mix it after seeing all the steps involved. It looked like too much work.
I made 20g of RODI and decided to use the measuring cups included in the box. I've read online that a digital scale is ideal, but I don't have one. And I almost went out and got one. So I mixed the components using the cups as instructed and the final salinity was spot on! I checked with a Pinpoint Salinity monitor and also a refractometer. I got 53mS or 1.0259 SG. Perfect!
I did aerate the RODI water for 1 hour before starting the mix and I continue to mix the water for 2 hours afterwards. I was concern about pH and oxygen level in the water since my water change requires that I completely drain my sump. And thats not such a good idea because I have a nice pair of clownfish living in the refugium.
So far, I'm very impressed with the ease and speed of the mixing process. I got my Reef Foundation test kit out of the shed, so I will start testing Cal/Alk/Mag before and after next water change.
Who knows, maybe I might start dosing...

 

[oh207]

Peppermint Spawn

Just before I did the water change I looked up in the DT and I almost freaked out. I saw what looked like a lot of detritus blowing around in the tank and I thought that something got chopped up in the powerhead. I had removed the sponge cover a few days ago.
But I quickly noticed that all the particles were about the same size. After close inspection, I noticed that they all look like tiny shrimps. I quickly grabbed my phone and took this video. It was an all you can eat buffet for the clowns. I had to pause the video and change the light settings so the camera can capture the tiny shrimps.
So now my clowns are spawning and the shrimps are spawning. Now all I need is for the Ruby Red dragonets to spawn. And I'm looking for a partner for the lonely yellow clown goby so he/she can get busy as well. :bunnies:
No doubt this is a good sign that things are going well with the tank. Knock on wood.

Video
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Az7Clb0GfRo

 

[lnevo]

Sweet man! Looks great.

 

[oh207]

Building a Manifod

This weekend I tried to build a manifold for a new tank and I failed. :sad2:
I got a couple of valves from BRS and I went to 2 True Value plumbing stores and then to Home Depot trying to find the parts that I need. I wasn't able to find what I need and so I gave up and installed as is. I will revisit this project again in a couple of weeks now that I know what I need to get.

 

[oh207]

Clowns Spawning

In other news, the clowns are spawning again. This clutch is HUGE! And I notice that the male is looking very skinny. The female isn't allowing him to eat much. I think they spawn a day after the last clutch of eggs hatch. I feel real sorry for the poor guy. Every time he tries to leave the eggs to eat she charges at him and says "Get back to work!"

 

[oh207]

Spawn again

Snowflakes spawn again 1 day after the last batch hatch.

 

[oh207]

Ruby Red Dragonet Courting

I came home this evening and I saw the dragonets having fun. I didn't notice at first that they were swimming together. The male always greets me in front of the tank and tries to attack me. I only noticed they were together after I saw them break apart towards the top of the tank.
:inlove:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ip4KPrCbs34

 

[lnevo]

Awesome man! My mandarin story is not so hot as of today... Been worried about him for a while and been researching how to culture copepods and how to setup a nice culture station for everything. Oh well, maybe I'll get it setup and try again when I'm better prepared. Or maybe today was an offday and I'll see him tomorrow.

 

[oh207]

Awesome man! My mandarin story is not so hot as of today... Been worried about him for a while and been researching how to culture copepods and how to setup a nice culture station for everything. Oh well, maybe I'll get it setup and try again when I'm better prepared. Or maybe today was an offday and I'll see him tomorrow.

Thanks Bro. I hope he is just hiding. I tried culturing pods last year in the backyard in 5g buckets. I was all over the place and didn't know enough to say that I was successful. LOL
At first I was very concerned about what these guys were eating and their diet. But then I saw them getting fat, so I figure they are eating something. I also have a Green mandarin in my tank that is looking plump. I've seen each of them go after mysis, brine, and pellets.
Let me know how your pod factory setup goes, I'm interested in revisiting that idea again.

 

[oh207]

New RODI Unit

A few weeks ago I got a great deal on an RODI unit that came with a booster pump. I was planning on upgrading my current 4-Stage BRS unit from a 75GPD to a 150GPD and also getting a booster pump because it was taking too long to make water. But I was able to get a BRS 75GPD unit with the 150GPD upgrade membrane, booster pump, new filters and resin, and auto shut off valve, and float valves at a good price.

So in the past I had a system of making water. I would start making water at 7pm on Friday and by 9am Saturday my 20g mixing container would be almost full (14hrs to make 20g). So I start this process on a Friday night and by Saturday morning the water is ready for mixing, and then 24 hours later (Sunday morning) I do the water change. It was a slow and prolong process and others in the family (no names mentioned in order to protect myself) felt like I was spending the entire weekend working on the tank. And because I completely take over the laundry room and sink it didn't help my case.

Now with the new unit and booster pump I'm making 20 gallon of water in under 4 hours! This is a huge savings in time. I now make water and mix salt Friday night, and perform the water change Saturday morning. So now I feel like I have the entire weekend free. And my family is quite happy too. I also switch over to using ESV so I no longer need to mix the salt for 24hrs. I still let the ESV mix overnight but I know that I don't have to do that.
Now I wish I had gotten this upgrade sooner...

 

[Widdy]

Wow 14hrs for 20g. Are you running double 75gpd membrane in a series? That's the best upgrade I made as well if it is. Added the same Aquatec Booster pump, and I'm around the same rate of 30-35min/5g.

 

[oh207]

I need to find a mate for the yellow clown goby.